My husband and I are renting a car and spending 7 days in Languedoc, France. We are looking for any suggestions for towns,hotels, and restaurants off the beaten track. And a suggested itinerary. We will be starting out of Barcelona on October 5th and returning there.
Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
11207 posts
Make sure you visit pretty Collioure on the coast. We enjoyed spending a few days there.
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Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3177 posts
Visit the tiny village of Cucugnan in the Cathar region. Rick recommended it as a true “back door” and I heartily agree. Stayed at the quaint Auberge du Vigneron. They have an excellent restaurant and make a remarkable cassoulet. After checking into my room, looking out the window, I heard a gunshot! Later found out that one of the townspeople bagged a wild boar. Walk to the bakery in the working mill at the edge of the village and enjoy some warm cookies. A little slice of heaven.
Posted by
Barcelona ☀️ Sweden ❄️
3912 posts
Foix, in the shadow of the Pyrenees is a pleasant town with a nice medieval castle, could be a good "back door".
There is also a restored Cistercian monastery called Abbaye de Fontfroide, that has a nice restaurant and regular concerts of classical music and Gregorian chants, very popular with locals. They even produce their own AOC Corbières wine.
Posted by
3122 posts
Ah, Carlos, I can't resist the language-learning rhyme:
Il y avait une fois
Une marchande de foie
Qui vendait du foie
Dans la ville de Foix.
Elle se dit, "Ma foi!
C'est la premiere fois
Que je vende du foie
Dans la ville de Foix!"
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Where to start? I flew to Toulouse from Paris, rented a car and drove to Carcassonne to start my trip through the area then drove up through Lot and Dordogne Valleys, camped on the beach and ended in Bordeaux for the wine festival last June. I picked up a tent, sleeping bag and pad at a Sporting Goods store and went camping (which most people aren't interested in so I won't give campsite recommendations).
I didn't go along the coast. If the coastal area interests you. My suggestions (not personally test driven) would be Sete, Narbonne and Collioure.
I did a lot of hiking up mountains to see castle ruins. The hikes were 30-45 minutes up hill, an hour or two exploring to my heart's content then another 20 minutes or so back to my car. My favorite castles were Foix (by far number one in the area), Peyrepertuse and Queribus. Most are in pretty rough shape but had great views. Cucugnan is between the two castles. It's a pretty nice town but "sleepy" would have been putting it mildly (when I was there). I was one of very few touring when I was there. The forecast was for heavy rain, which might have chased people away. I could have done the entire trip without a rain coat. Each hike was dry - until I got back in my car - then started pouring (kind of miraculous really). I went to see Alet les Bains. It has a very old monastery but it's pretty rough. The best part are some original 12th century frescoes. Again I think I was the sole visitor when I was there (in early June, maybe it gets busier in summer?).
I liked the old cite in Carcassonne a lot but only went at night after dinner (exploring other places all day). For me Albi wasn't interesting. I liked the cathedral but wasn't drawn to anything else.
The town of Cordes-sur-Ciel was a perfect medieval town. It's supposed to get packed in summer but wasn't at all when I visited. Going north, both the town and castle of Najac was another favorite. Further north, I was really happy with the town of St. Cirque Lapopie and Pech Merle cave. For me the town of Conques was far better than Rocamadour. I liked, but didn't love, the town of Figeac.
I'll stop there because my next favorites were up in the Dordogne Valley.